Booth’s battle with pain has been a private one
RADNOR >> Phil Booth strolled out of the Villanova locker room dressed more like a coach than a player. For the ninth straight game the 6-foot-3 junior guard sported a suit rather than a uniform.
It’s not what Booth envisioned when the season began. He thought he would be in the starting lineup after two seasons as a key reserve for the reigning national champions.
No such luck. Pain and inflammation in his left knee, the one he had surgically repaired a month after the national championship game, has relegated Booth to spectator for the last nine games.
Booth thought the arthroscopic surgery he had on the knee May 5 would alleviate the pain he played with all last season and for a while it did. Villanova coach Jay Wright said that Booth was a “monster” during the team’s workouts in the fall.
Three games into the season, though, the pain returned, this time in a different area. Booth said the pain was not as severe as what he went through last season, but Booth did not hide his discomfort the way he did during Villanova’s magical run to national title.
That’s all Wright wanted. He sensed something was wrong last season. He said he asked Booth about it several times and each time Booth told Wright he was fine when he wasn’t. The two had a talk after Booth had surgery in May.
“The conversation we had was to be honest,” Wright said. “If there’s any pain, tell us. That’s what we’re doing right now. We’re just being really patient, really careful.”
Wright never questioned Booth’s toughness or his dedication to the team and neither did is teammates. Booth’s play on the court was proof of that. Wright just wanted Booth to be healthy. More importantly, Wright wanted Booth to be honest with him.
“Coach was in my ear and the other players told me I don’t have to play through it again,” Booth said. “They told me I don’t have to do it again for the team even though they know how tough I am and how much I want to play. It’s time to get it right and that’s what the plan is. I’m trying to get to 100 percent. It’s a slow process.”
And so Booth sits and works patiently with trainer Jeff Pierce so that he can play pain free.
It’s a cruel twist of fate for a player who waited two its second seasons to take his spot in the starting lineup, a position he earned as a valuable reserve. Villanova would not have a second national championship banner hanging from the rafters of the Pavilion had it not been for Booth.
In the national championship game Booth shot 6-for-7 from the field (2for-2 from 3-point range) and 6-for-6 from the free throw line for a career high 20 points. Without his two foul shots with 35 seconds left, and two more from Josh Hart 22 seconds later, there would be no last-second game-winning 3-point shot by Kris Jenkins.
“It’s been difficult,” Booth said. “It’s a new position for me. I’ve never had to miss games like this because of injury.”
Booth’s absence has been tough on the top-ranked Wildcats, too. Wright has gone primarily with a seven-man rotation through the last nine games, which means more minutes for the likes of Hart, Jenkins and sophomores Jalen Brunson and Mikal Bridges, who replaced Booth in the starting lineup.
Hart is averaging 33 minutes per game, Jenkins 31 and Brunson and Bridges 29 each. A healthy Booth would eat up some of those minutes and help save legs for later in the season. Booth was averaging 24 minutes and 5.7 points and two assists per game before he was sidelined.
“There’s no doubt he would help us,” Wright said.
Finding minutes for a healthy Booth is a problem Wright would love to have, but the key word there is healthy. He does not want Booth’s injury to become a nagging problem with longlasting effects.
“We can’t progress to the next step until he is pain-free,” Wright said. “The last time we had him go out and do a workout he had pain in his knee, so we’re in that rest period. When he comes back, we’re going to try to get him in shape a little bit and work him out to see if we can get him pain-free. If we get pain-free then we can start on the process of getting him back.”
Booth is on board with the plan. In the meantime, he sits and watches and does whatever he can to help the team. The view from the bench, where he sits during games with walk-ons Tom Leibig of Haverford High, Denny Grace and Matt Kennedy, has given Booth a different perspective of the game.
“You see a lot more things that you don’t see as a player,” Booth said. “I can give more feedback to the guys because I see different things. It’s the little things. You don’t see a lot of the stuff that’s going on behind you when you’re on the court. As a guard, you don’t always see the work guys like Darryl Reynolds, Kris Jenkins and Eric Paschall are doing up front. It makes you appreciate those guys even more.”
Being on the bench, in a suit, is not what Booth expected, but it’s the hand that he has been dealt and he’s trying to make the most of it.
“I’m being careful, playing it smart,” Booth said. “I want to get back out on the court and help the team, but I know I have to be healthy to do that.”